Sometimes...

...school isn't about books and worksheets and memorizing drills.

Sometimes it's about life, and applying lessons appropriately. And sometimes it can be F-U-N.

We went to a farm last week called "An American Ark" where they had 125 acres of all kinds of fun animals to check out. The kids even got to pet a turkey. Kellan picked up a feather for his souvenir, and I took opportunity to teach them about the song Yankee Doodle, and also a fun writing experiment.

We cut the tip of the feather off, and inserted a calligraphy tip (I have a calligraphy set of old fashioned tips and bottles of ink, but you can find them at any hobby store for super cheap) and we dipped the quill pen in a bottle of ink to write letters just like George Washington did when he addressed his army.

The kids loved it! And especially for my Kindergartner who does not like writing, he couldn't get enough. He has asked every day since then to do it again. Win!

And sometimes school lessons can be brought around full circle by applying whatever lesson they are learning to something they are going through in their life. Like this morning, my first grader was being her typical dramatic girl self. She refused to get her chores done in a timely manner so that we could proceed with school work. And as a result, she had to have a time out while the rest of us had scripture and song time- she was very much upset about that.

My rule is that the time out begins when they are quiet and reflective. She was yelling and back talking. So I asked her "Maren, what is 9+6?"" Her: "15. Why." (no question in her tone. Just demanding because clearly this was lame for her.) So I continued "Which is greater? 15 or 6?" She said "15. Duh Mom, I know this already."

So I said "Well, if you continue to be angry for 9 minutes, and still have to do 6 quiet minutes, you are standing there longer. Would you like to stand for less time?" (of course she would.) She finally got my point and was quiet. And it was a *math review*, hahahaha.

This was also part of her writing time. It was perfect opportunity to discuss grammar, and structuring a sentence correctly! ;^)

See? Sometimes to stay sane with homeschooling, I realize that I have to know that they are going through something emotionally, and instead of getting mad and wanting to loose my cool (often!) I try to ponder how I can help them learn how to approach things better. And roll with the punches.